Henry carmiciiael



UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

HENRY CARMIGHAEL, OF MALDEN, MASSACHUSETTS.

PROCESS OF TREATING FIBER WARE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 395,951, dated January 8, 1889.

Application filed April 13, 1887. Serial No. 234,689. (Specimens) To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY UARMICHAEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Malden, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Process of Treating Fiber \Vare; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a novel process for treating or indurating fibrous materials, and is especially adapted, among other things, for the treatment of articles made of wood pulp or other analogous fiber.

Prior to this my present invention articles made from pulp iiber have been indurated, as disclosed in former patents granted to me, by subjecting them to the action of liquid baths of hot linseed-oil, colophony, asph lt, &c., and subsequently subjecting them to a substantially high temperature for a considerable length of time, by which the oil, colophony, 850., in themass is oxidized or hard ened.

It has been found in practice when articles of pulp fiber have been treated as above described that the linseed-oil or other indurating substance either did not penetrate sufliciently into the interior of the article or if it did it penetrated in such quantities that the porous spaces of the article would be filled or plugged up with the said indurating substance, so that lllOSllbSGqllt-llh ingress of oxygen-namely, heated airwould be prevented or retarded, thus preventing or retarding the oxidation of the indurating substance. This is especially true if the oil or other induratingsubstance be forced into the fibrous article under pressure. Fibrous articles treated as above described are hard, resilient, and impenetrable; but when broken or cut they show uneven structures, decreasing in density from the surface inward, the centers being usually spongy and unaffected by the process which has hardened the exterior portion.

This invention has for one of its objects to effect a uniform distribution of the linseed-oil or other induratin g substance throughout the fibrous mass or article, whereby the whole body or substance of the article is uniformly supplied with the indurating material; and, further, the invention designed to leave the mass of fibrous material which has been thus uniformly saturated with the indurati'ng substance in such porous condition that it is acted upon throughout by the heat, and the oil or other indural ing substance is thoroughly oxidized uniformly throi'lghout the mass. I accomplish this feature of my i11- vention by dissolving the indurating substance in a suitable solvent, which acts as a vehicle or carrier to convey the indurating substance into the interior of the fibrousmass or article, the said solvent, when a volatile solvent is used, being subsequently expelled from the fibrous mass or article, leaving the indu rating substance in condition to be easily and quickly acted upon by the oxidizing agent.

The oil or other indurating substance, being dissolved-in naphi ha or olher suitable solvent, will, as is well known, be carried more readily and will be uniformly diffused through the mass; but the uniform diffusion in this case is not so important a feature as the uniform oxidation. The removal of the solvent by evaporation leaves the oil adhering to the fibers with min ute passages and cells or spaces which were occupied by the solvent open to the access of air, so that when heat isapplied the mass is thoroughly oxidized by heat and the presence of oxygen lhroughoul the mass, and by this step in the process, in connection with the heating, as herein described, there is secured not only a uniform diffusion of the indurating material, but a uniform oxidation of the same, which could not be accomplished were the pores clogged with oil or other undissolved material.

In practice the hygroscopic moisture is preferably first removed from the article to be treated, which is then immersed in a bath composed .of an indurating substance, which may be linseed or other oil, colophony, or other resin, asphalt, or analogous substance, or a mixture of ihesedissolved in a suitable solve'ntsueh, for instance, as naphtha, turpentine, benziue, bisulphide of carbon, or other suitable solvent.

To enable my invention to be clearly understood, I will describe the process with the indurating substance preferred by l116- namely, a mixture of equal parts ot linseed- Oil and colophony or other resin.

A mixture of equal parts, by Weight, oti lin seed-oil. and eolophonv is dissolved in an equal volumeot' napht ha, and the aitieletobe treated is immersed in the solution or bath. thus formed, it being ietttherein, preferably, until bubbles eease to eseape, usually about live minutes, the artiele being at sueh time thoroughly satu rated.

\Vhen naphtha is used, the opera! ion should be eonduet ed in a eovered vessel on aeeount oi the volatilenature ot the naphtha. 'hen the article is dense, pressure may be employed to t'aeilitate the introduction of the induratine' solution; or the air may be exha'usted from the artirle bet'ore treating it 1 duratiine' substanei and naphtha or other solwill preferably be distilled ot't trom or out ot the fibrous matm'ial in a sepzirato or distinct vent is removed from thebath, and thenaphtha or other solvent is expelled l'rom the artiele by spontaneous evaporations or by artitieial heat, it being preferred to heatithe saturated art iele in a closed vessel, t'rom \vhieh the naphtha is distilled and eondensed in the usual manner, it being thus reeovered to be used again.

The naphtha or other solvent: merely aets meehaniealtv as a earrier or vehiele tor the induratioe' substanee to eondnet the latter in a iiholy-divided state to the renter or interior ot' the artiele.

At'ter l'reeiug'tl eartieleot' solvent and leaving the tibers ol' the artiele impregnated with linseed-oil, the said artiele is subjeeted to a baking; prot'ess, \vhieh eonsists in subjeetiug the article to a heat prel'eraldv approximatina' 27o lhihrenheit in a ventilatedoven for about three hours, more or less, or until the V;

saturating the article with a solution of in durating substanee; second, treeing the artiirritatina' tnmes of oxidizingoil eease to be given otti. By this baking proeess the oil in the tiller, both at the eente and surt'aee ot the article, is oxidized, thus rendering the tiber impervious to liquids. 'llle artiele, al ter heine; baked, as destn-ibed, possesses a 'vesieular strueture like eorlc. It is light and porous, yet praettmtttv \vater-proot. It has a smooth amt even strueture and resembles somewhat; the hest; qualities of box-wood, though without any deeided grain, \rhile itis ver flexible and elastie and possesses in a relllttl'lCtthlt'! degree the property ot' resisting blows and t'raet are.

l have dest-ribed the bath as eomposed ot equal parts ol linseed-oil and resin and naphtha; but I do not desire to eon tine myself to these ')roport ions, as the same magvl'ie varied aeeording to the nature of the article to be treated. and the uses to which it is to be put.

I ha'veherein deseribed the indurating substauees as a mixture of equal parts ot'linseed-oil and resins; but I do not, desire to limit myself to this"mi.\'ture ot linseed or other oil alone, as eolophony or other resinous substance alone may be used with good results.

ll the proeess above deseribed the fiber ot the artiele is indurated, while the article or mass as a whole is porous.

1t now it is desired to render the artieleor mass as a Whole, as well as the individual tibers thereot, inaeeessible or impenetrable to liquids, the said artiele or mass is inunersed or treated with hot linseed-oil or a mixture theroot' with other substaue *ssu -h as eolophonv, &e.-and suhjeeted toa smaondbaking', the pores ot' the artiele or mass being thus stopped up or elosed, thus preventing liquids t'rom 1 enetratin1r into the interior oi the artiele or mass.

In praetiee the naphtha or other solvent apparatus t'rom that in \vhieh the baking step ot? the proeess is earried on; but it is evident that both steps may be carried on in one apparatus as, t'or instant-e, the bakingoven.

1 etainr l. The art or method oli' tr ,*atin artieles ot pulp or other lllltl', \vhieh eonsists, tirst, in

, sat uratine' the artiele with a solution of induration substanee: seeond, t'reeing the artiele From the solvent, and, lastly, subjeeting the artiele t'reed t'rom solvent, but eontanine' the indur: ting substam-e, toa baking proeess, whereby the induratinesubstanee in the tiber is oxidized or hart'lened, substantially as and For the purpose speeitiet'l.

:2. lhe art; or method ot' 1 reating, artieles of pulp or other tiber, \vhieh eonsists, first, in

(lo trom the solvent; third, subjwting the artiele treed from solvent, but eonta-iniue; the indurating substanee, to a baking process; tourth, suhjeetina the baked artiele to a bath oti linseed-oil or a mixt ure thereotf, and, lastly, suhjeeting the article to a seeond baking, sub- Htz'llltltlttY as deseril'ied.

ln testimony\rhereot Iat'tix my signature in presenee ot' two witnesses.

.I l Ef tll- Y t ARM l'tllAEl). \l'itnesses:

lI nxnv t. (Q'tl N'l, tiuas. t 'ldfl'tfiltld. 

